Lantern Walk or Martinmas Celebration

Lantern Walk or Martinmas, as it may be called in Waldorf Schools, is simply wonderful - the stories, the songs, the community. Create a celebration of your own.

This month you may want to recall your experiences with Lantern Walk or Martinmas celebrations when telling your stories. If you haven't experienced this for yourself yet there is a chance that a Waldorf school in your community is celebrating this month and would invite you to join in if you inquire.OR, if you have a homeschool group or an early childhood program you can make your own Lantern Walk! Simply find a nice spot with a path and set up some luminaries to create a path to walk along (it is very simple - just brown paper bags, sand and tea lights or battery operated tea lights), learn the songs, tell a story- see this link for a very nice story of St. Martin - and of course, make lanterns and you will have everything you need.

Our school has a lovely page with lantern songs (you will notice that I used some of the art from Twelve Little Tales to create our flyer :) Our music teacher is VERY amazing and brings to our school a rich and full musical experience. The story that we tell at our school is about St. Martin but modified somewhat to accommodate our public/charter school audience. The message is kindness, sharing, doing good in the world, bringing our light into the darkness that sometimes feels very powerful - but always knowing that all of our lights together are far more powerful than anything else.

So, four steps:1. Create your lanterns - as you can see from clicking the link above there are many ways to make lanterns. Try one this year and a different one next time!2. Learn the songs. Google Waldorf lantern walk songs. You will find plenty of recordings that will help you learn. 3. Find a place to create your path of luminaries - it is nice to have a loop if you begin and end in the same spot. It is also nice to go through the trees - just use battery operated lights if you are around anything flammable!4. Learn a story - people tell Star Money or the story of St. Martin. Google Waldorf Martinmas Stories or Waldorf Lantern Walk Stories and you will find many a resource.

In our Twelve Little Tales story this month we talk about doing good things for others, which is a key part of the feeling and energy around this festival. You may wish to also talk about how you can help others feel good. In our home we talk about how simply smiling at people can make a HUGE difference. We notice that often people are in their own little world, sometimes thinking about things or are feeling insecure - or maybe we are doing that! - and sometimes people look at bit grumpy at these times ;) So remembering to smile at others is one of the easiest and best things we can do to feel better ourselves and spread our light and joy into the world! Holding a food drive with your local food bank or a coat drive are great things - maybe even just with your neighbors. There are many ways we can help others and is it fun to think of them with the children. They always have the greatest ides. If you have any questions, please ask! I am very happy to answer them!